LG
LG is expected to announce the LG V30s during MWC 2018. REUTERS/Albert Gea

LG is expected to announce a new variant of last year’s V30 Android phone from last year during Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 later this month. Now it’s being rumored that the new variant will be called the LG V30s and it will arrive with a feature that’s called “LG Lens.”

The LG V30s will be released to the South Korean market in March and will cost over one million won (~$918), according to ETNews. With that kind of price, it seems as though LG is trying put the V30s in the same range as the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and Apple’s iPhone X.

The LG V30s is said to look the same as the original V30. However, its internal specs have been upgraded. The V30s will arrive with 256GB of storage, which is a huge increase from the original’s 64GB that’s in the V30, and doubles what’s found inside the V30 Plus. Just on storage alone, the V30s matches the limited edition V30 Signature Edition, which was sold in Korea for nearly $2,000, as pointed out by Android Authority. It’s also being speculated that the V30s may also have 6GB of RAM.

Another upgrade in the LG V30s is the inclusion of what’s being called as “LG Lens.” This said to be a new camera feature that’s akin to the camera AI features of Bixby Vision that’s available on the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Note 8. Apparently, LG Lens will allow users to search and shop just by taking a photo of a product with the V30s camera.

LG Lens will be able to recognize the object in the image and it will find the same or similar products online. Users will be able to buy items directly on their LG V30s phones. It was also mentioned that LG Lens may also be able to recognize bar codes and QR codes.

Another thing that LG Lens will be capable of is language translation. When a user takes a photo of a foreign language sign for example, the LG V30s will translate the text using the LG Lens software. LG Lens will also be able to recognize places using GPS. Using augmented reality guides, the new software will be able to help users navigate through the fastest route. The AR guides can also help in displaying the most popular restaurants that’s near the user.

LG is said to be using the V30s to steal the spotlight from the Samsung Galaxy S9, which will debut on Feb. 25 and will also be showcased during MWC 2018. Sources from mobile carriers claim that both the LG V30s and the Galaxy S9 will be released at the same time on March 9.